Rear tightener for safety ski bindings

ABSTRACT

The rear tightener is pivotally held at two tension elements, which extend past the sides of the heel of the skiing boot in a downwardly inclined direction and are held on the ski by a supporting member. The latter consists of a push rod and in its central portion is pivoted to a guide lever, which is secured to the ski. The pivotal axis of both parts are parallel and extend transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ski and parallel to the tread of the ski. The arm of the push rod which extends from the pivot to the tip of the ski holds the tension elements. The other arm extending from the pivot to the rear end of the ski bears on the ski. A releasable locking device is provided, which serves to hold the push rod and/or the guide lever on the ski.

Unite States atent inventor Hens-Otto Frisch Farchant, Germany App]. No. 873,989

Filed Nov. 4, 1969 Patented Nov. 9, 1971 Assignee Hannes Marker Garmlsch-Partenkirchen, Germany Priorities Mar. 7, [969, May 14, 1969,

Germany G 69 09 236.0; P 19 24 728.0

REAR TIGHTENER FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 280/1 1.35 T

Int. Cl A63c 9/00 Field of Search 280/ l 1.35

T, 11.35 AA {56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,396,373 3/1946 Henrichsen 280/] 1.35 AA 2,610,861 9/1952 Campbell 2230/] 1.35 T 3,249,365 5/1966 Beyl 280/1 1.35 T

Primary ExaminerBenjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Robert R. Song ArtorneyFleit, Gipple & Jacobson ABSTRACT: The rear tightener is pivotally held at two tension elements, which extend past the sides of the heel of the skiing boot in a downwardly inclined direction and areheld 0n the ski by a supporting member. The latter consists of a push rod and in its central portion is pivoted to a guide lever, which is secured to the ski The pivotal axis of both parts are parallel and extend transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ski and parallel to the tread of the ski. The arm of the push rod which extends from the pivot to the tip of the ski holds the tension elements. The other arm extending from the pivot to the rear end of the ski bears on the ski. A releasable locking device is provided, which serves to hold the push rod and/or the guide lever on the ski,

PATENTEDunv 9 I97! SHEET 1 [1F 4 INVENTOR HANS-OTTO FRISCH BYM J ms

PATENTEDuuv 9 I97\ 3.618.964

' SHEET 2 OF 4 REAR TIGI-ITENER FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS The present invention relates to rear tighteners for safety ski bindings, which tighteners are pivotally held at two tension elements, which extend past the sides of the heel of the skiing boot in a downwardly inclined direction and are held on the ski by a supporting member.

In such known rear or heel tighteners, the supporting members consist of heel plates, or so-called turntables, which have short lateral jaws, to which tension elements consisting of tension rods or cables are connected. These rear tighteners cannot be used for cross-country skiing so that their useful value is highly adversely affected.

Rear tighteners are known which are free of the above disadvantage and enable cross-country skiing. In one such design, the turntable is simply provided at the free end of a sole plate, which is secured to the ski under the ball of the foot or before the skiing boot and the free end of which is locked to the ski when a downhill run is desired. In another known design having the same principle of operation, the heel plate is held by a U-shaped wire member, which is mounted on the ski like a lever and close to its pivotal axis carries the toe iron.

It has been found in practice, however, that these known bindings do not meet the requirements that they seek to fulfill. First and particularly in those bindings which comprise a U- shaped wire member, the sole of the skiing boot is spaced from the surface of the ski although such spacing is undesirable for a good control of the ski. Moreover, the sole of the boot is so gripped in the binding that it cannot flex considerably during cross-country skiing causing the skier to suffer from fatigue after a short time. Further, the design comprising a sole plate does not enable a safety release during a forward fall when used for cross country skiing. In the embodiment having a wire member there is a clamping device which engages the free end of the wire member. This device produces a damping which cannot be adjusted and which is undesirable in crosscountry ski walking where small-sized skiing boots are used. This damping device also considerably adds to the structure and hence the cost of the binding.

It is therefore and object of the present invention to design a rear tightener that is free of the disadvantages of the known rear tighteners and considerably meets the requirements encountered in practice.

In a rear tightener for safety ski bindings, which tightener is pivotally held at two tension elements, extending past the sides of the heel of the skiing boot in a downwardly inclined direction and held on the ski by a supporting member, this object is accomplished according to the invention in that the supporting member consists of a push rod and in its central portion is pivoted to a guide lever which is secured to the ski. The pivotal axes of both parts of the push rod are parallel and extend transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ski and parallel to the trend of the ski. The arm of the push rod which extends from the pivot to the tip of the ski holds the tension elements, while the other arm, extending from the pivot to the rear end of the ski, bears on the ski. A releasable locking device is provided, which serves to hold the push rod and/or the guide lever on the ski. This arrangement can be properly designed to have a damping effect on the lifting movement of the skiing boot. Because that damping depends on the force required for a release, it is automatically adjusted to match the physical characteristics of the skier.

It has proved desirable for structural reasons that the arm of the push rod which extends to the tip of the ski be forked and the free prong ends holding respective tension elements be interconnected by a crossmember. In this case the guide lever may be mounted on a baseplate, which is upwardly offset at its end directed toward the top of the ski and which together with the crossmember of the push rod arm forms the locking device.

The crossmember consists suitably of a pivoted arm. Because the heel of the boot bears on the baseplate during a downhill run and on the crossmember during cross-country skiing, different positions of the crossmember will result in different basic positions of the boot during cross-country skiing. These positions can be selected in dependence upon the steepness of the ground.

A backing roller is preferably mounted at the free end of that arm of the push rod which extends toward the rear end of the ski. To protect the surface of the ski, a bearing plate for engagement by the backing roller may be provided on the surface of the ski.

An embodiment of the subject matter of the invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing the rear tightener without the heel-holding member and with the supporting member partly cut open,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line II-II in FIG. I and showing the device in condition for downhill runs,

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic side elevation showing the rear tightener in the basic position for cross-country skiing,

FIG. 4 is a showing similar to FIG. 3 with the heel of the boot lifted from the ski, and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 and showing a second possible basic position for cross-country skiing.

The rear tightener comprises a baseplate I, which is screwed to a ski 3 by screws 2. At that end which extends toward the tip of the ski, the baseplate has a bent-up portion 4, which has a surface acting as a heel plate during downhill runs. Two bearing eyes 5 are struck out of an intermediate portion of the baseplate. A guide lever 6 is freely pivotally movable in the eyes 5 with the aid of a pivot pin 7. A supporting member consisting of a push rod 9 is pivoted by a pivot 8 to the free end of the guide lever. The push rod 9 thus comprises two arms. That arm 10 which extends toward the tip of the ski is forked. The second arm 11 carries at its free end a backing roller 12, which normally rests on the ski. A crossmember 13 is mounted in the free ends of the forked arm 10 and can be fixed in three different positions. The first position (see FIGS. 1 and 2) is selected for downhill runs. The second position (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is selected for cross-country skiing. The third position is an intermediate position also for crosscountry skiing (see FIG. 5).

In each portion of the forked arm 10 of the push rod 9, a tension rod 14 or 15 is freely rotatably mounted in addition to the crossmember 13. The two tension rods l4, l5 carry a heelholding member 16, which may suitably consist of a safety binding of known type and for this reason is only diagrammatically shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

The crossmember 13 consisting suitably of a circular section steel rod has a central hump 17 to form a pivoted arm, the free end of which is one fixed position (see'FIG. 5) rests in a recess 18 in a portion of the baseplate I when the skiing boot is lowered onto the ski. During cross-country walking on steep slopes, this arrangement results in a lower limiting position, in which the sole of the skiing boot rests on the ski with a larger than normal inclination. The position of the crossmember 13 does not influence the upper limiting position of the device during cross-country walking.

The backing roller 12 runs on the surface of the ski during the up and down movement of the skiing boot during crosscountry walking. To avoid damage to the surface of a wooden ski by the backing roller, a bearing plate for engagement by the roller may be provided in the area of rolling engagement.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the rear tightener in position for the downhill run. In that position, the crossmember I3 is under the part 4 of the baseplate I so that it is protected against an upward movement. As a result, the heel-holding member 16, which is not shown in FIGS. I and 2, holds the sole of the skiing boot firmly on the bent-up part 4, which serves as a rear plate. When the boot is not in the binding, the device can be adjusted for cross-country skiing in that the push rod 9 is seized at the arm 11 and swung upwardly. This results automatically in a simultaneous movement of the push rod toward the tip of the ski under the action of the guide lever 6. That movement causes the crossmember 13 to be released from the part 4 of the baseplate l and to be lifted. The push rod 9 is then moved back toward the rear end of the ski. This movement causes the crossmember 13 to rest on the portion of the baseplate, as is apparent from FIG. 3. During cross-country skiing, the sole of the skiing boot bears on the crossmember 13. The change of the adjustment of the heel holder from cross-country skiing to downhill skiing is similarly effected.

What is claimed is:

l. A rear tightener, particularly for safety ski bindings, the rear tightener comprising: a guide lever pivotally mounted at one of its ends on a ski; a push rod pivotally mounted at its central region on the end ol the guide lever remote from said ski; the pivotal axes of said guide lever and said push rod being parallel to one another, extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ski, and lying parallel to the tread of the ski; first and second tension elements adapted to extend past the side of the heel of a skiing boot in a downwardly inclined direction, mounted on respective arms of said push rod which extend from the pivot axis of said push rod to the top of the ski; heel-engaging means mounted on said tension elements; a bearing surface on the arm of said push rod which extends from the pivot axis of said push rod to the rear of the ski, for

bearing on the ski; and a releasable locking device for holding said push rod and said guide lever on the ski.

2. A rear tightener according to claim 1, wherein the arm of said push rod which extends towards the tip of the ski is forked; wherein the free prong ends hold the respective tension elements; and further comprising a crossmember interconnecting said free prong ends.

3. A rear tightener according to claim 2, and further comprising a baseplate on which said guide lever is mounted; said baseplate being upwardly offset at its end directed toward the tip of the ski, and together with the crossmember of the push rod arm forming said locking device.

4. A rear tightener according to claim 2 wherein said crossmember comprises a pivoted arm.

5. A rear tightener according to claim 1, and further comprising a backing roller mounted at the free end of the arm of said push rod which extends toward the rear end of the ski.

6. A rear tightener according to claim 5, and further comprising a bearing plate for engagement by the backing roller, mounted on the surface of the ski. 

1. A rear tightener, particularly for safety ski bindings, the rear tightener comprising: a guide lever pivotally mounted at one of its ends on a ski; a push rod pivotally mounted at its central region on the end of the guide lever remote from said ski; the pivotal axes of said guide lever and said push rod being parallel to one another, extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ski, and lying parallel to the tread of the ski; first and second tension elements adapted to extend past the side of the heel of a skiing boot in a downwardly inclined direction, mounted on respective arms of said push rod which extend from the pivot axis of said push rod to the tip of the ski; heel-engaging means mounted on said tension elements; a bearing surface on the arm of said push rod which extends from the pivot axis of said push rod to the rear of the ski, for bearing on the ski; and a releasable locking device for holding said push rod and said guide lever on the ski.
 2. A rear tightener according to claim 1, wherein the arm of said push rod which extends towards the tip of the ski is forked; wherein the free prong ends hold the respective tension elements; and further comprising a crossmember interconnecting said free prong ends.
 3. A rear tightener according to claim 2, and further comprising a baseplate on which said guide lever is mounted; said baseplate being upwardly offset at its end directed toward the tip of the ski, and together with the crossmember of the push rod arm forming said locking device.
 4. A rear tightener according to claim 2 wherein said crossmember comprises a pivoted arm.
 5. A rear tightener according to claim 1, and further comprising a backing roller mounted at the free end of the arm of said push rod which extends toward the rear end of the ski.
 6. A rear tightener according to claim 5, and further comprising a bearing plate for engagement by the backing roller, mounted on the surface of the ski. 